Encyclopedia of Perception


Book Description

Because of the ease with which we perceive, many people see perception as something that "just happens." However, even seemingly simple perceptual experiences involve complex underlying mechanisms, which are often hidden from our conscious experience. These mechanisms are being investigated by researchers and theorists in fields such as psychology, cognitive science, neuroscience, computer science, and philosophy. A few examples of the questions posed by these investigations are, What do infants perceive? How does perception develop? What do perceptual disorders reveal about normal functioning? How can information from one sense, such as hearing, be affected by information from another sense, such as vision? How is the information from all of our senses combined to result in our perception of a coherent environment? What are some practical outcomes of basic research in perception? These are just a few of the questions this encyclopedia will consider, as it presents a comprehensive overview of the field of perception for students, researchers, and professionals in psychology, the cognitive sciences, neuroscience, and related medical disciplines such as neurology and ophthalmology.







The Five Senses and Beyond


Book Description

How do our human senses work and help us interact with our surroundings, and what happens when these senses malfunction or are impaired? This book provides in-depth information that answers these questions and more. The Five Senses and Beyond: The Encyclopedia of Perception supplies students and general readers with accurate, up-to-date information about the human senses. It explains the "big five" senses in detail as well as lesser-known but important senses—perceptions such as balance, kinesthesia, temperature, and pain. After a helpful introduction, this reference work provides A-to-Z, cross-referenced entries on hundreds of topics in the realm of human perception that allow students to find and digest information quickly and draw connections between related topics. Through the use of activity sidebars, readers will also be able to explore the workings of the senses firsthand, lending an element of interactivity to this accessible encyclopedia. A convenient end-of-volume glossary provides definitions of unfamiliar terms.




Encyclopedia of Time


Book Description

"With a strong interdisciplinary approach to a subject that does not lend itself easily to the reference format, this work may not seem to support directly academic programs beyond general research, but it is a more thorough and up-to-date treatment than Taylor and Francis's 1994 Encyclopedia of Time. Highly recommended." —Library Journal STARRED Review Surveying the major facts, concepts, theories, and speculations that infuse our present comprehension of time, the Encyclopedia of Time: Science, Philosophy, Theology, & Culture explores the contributions of scientists, philosophers, theologians, and creative artists from ancient times to the present. By drawing together into one collection ideas from scholars around the globe and in a wide range of disciplines, this Encyclopedia will provide readers with a greater understanding of and appreciation for the elusive phenomenon experienced as time. Features Surveys historical thought about time, including those ideas that emerged in ancient Greece, early Christianity, the Italian Renaissance, the Age of Enlightenment, and other periods Covers the original and lasting insights of evolutionary biologist Charles Darwin, physicist Albert Einstein, philosopher Alfred North Whitehead, and theologian Pierre Teilhard de Chardin Discusses the significance of time in the writings of Isaac Asimov, Samuel Taylor Coleridge, Fyodor M. Dostoevsky, Francesco Petrarch, H. G. Wells, and numerous other authors Contains the contributions of naturalists and religionists, including astronomers, cosmologists, physicists, chemists, geologists, paleontologists, anthropologists, psychologists, philosophers, and theologians Includes artists' portrayals of the fluidity of time, including painter Salvador Dali's The Persistence of Memory and The Discovery of America by Christopher Columbus, and writers Gustave Flaubert's The Temptation of Saint Anthony and Henryk Sienkiewicz's Quo Vadis Provides a truly interdisciplinary approach, with discussions of Aztec, Buddhist, Christian, Egyptian, Ethiopian, Hindu, Islamic, Navajo, and many other cultures' conceptions of time Key Themes Biography Biology/Evolution Culture/History Geology/Paleontology Philosophy Physics/Chemistry Psychology/Literature Religion/Theology Theories/Concepts




Encyclopedia of Human Behavior


Book Description

The Encyclopedia of Human Behavior, Second Edition, Three Voluime Set is an award-winning three-volume reference on human action and reaction, and the thoughts, feelings, and physiological functions behind those actions. Presented alphabetically by title, 300 articles probe both enduring and exciting new topics in physiological psychology, perception, personality, abnormal and clinical psychology, cognition and learning, social psychology, developmental psychology, language, and applied contexts. Written by leading scientists in these disciplines, every article has been peer-reviewed to establish clarity, accuracy, and comprehensiveness. The most comprehensive reference source to provide both depth and breadth to the study of human behavior, the encyclopedia will again be a much-used reference source. This set appeals to public, corporate, university and college libraries, libraries in two-year colleges, and some secondary schools. Carefully crafted, well written, and thoroughly indexed, the encyclopedia helps users-whether they are students just beginning formal study of the broad field or specialists in a branch of psychology-understand the field and how and why humans behave as we do. Named a 2013 Outstanding Academic Title by the American Library Association's Choice publication Concise entries (ten pages on average) provide foundational knowledge of the field Each article features suggested further readings, a list of related websites, a 5-10 word glossary and a definition paragraph, and cross-references to related articles in the encyclopedi Newly expanded editorial board and a host of international contributors from the United States, Australia, Belgium, Canada, France, Germany, Ireland, Israel, Japan, Sweden, and the United Kingdom




Phenomenology of Perception


Book Description

Buddhist philosophy of Anicca (impermanence), Dukkha (suffering), and




Encyclopedia of the Mind


Book Description

It′s hard to conceive of a topic of more broad and personal interest than the study of the mind. In addition to its traditional investigation by the disciplines of psychology, psychiatry, and neuroscience, the mind has also been a focus of study in the fields of philosophy, economics, anthropology, linguistics, computer science, molecular biology, education, and literature. In all these approaches, there is an almost universal fascination with how the mind works and how it affects our lives and our behavior. Studies of the mind and brain have crossed many exciting thresholds in recent years, and the study of mind now represents a thoroughly cross-disciplinary effort. Researchers from a wide range of disciplines seek answers to such questionsas: What is mind? How does it operate? What is consciousness? This encyclopedia brings together scholars from the entire range of mind-related academic disciplines from across the arts and humanities, social sciences, life sciences, and computer science and engineering to explore the multidimensional nature of the human mind.




Encyclopedia of Perception


Book Description

The field of perception is devoted to explaining the operation of the senses and the experiences and behaviors resulting from stimulation of the senses. Perceptual processes such as recognizing faces, seeing color, hearing music, and feeling pain represent the actions of complex mechanisms, yet we usually do them easily. The Encyclopedia of Perception presents a comprehensive overview of the field of perception through authoritative essays written by leading researchers and theoreticians in psychology, the cognitive sciences, neuroscience, and medical disciplines. It presents two parallel and interacting approaches: the psychophysical, or determining the relationship between stimuli in the environment and perception, and the physiological, or locating the biological systems responsible for perception. Are there any processes not associated with perception? Surely there are, but the pervasiveness of perception is truly impressive, and the phenomena of perception and its mechanisms are what this encyclopedia is about. Key Features Contains 16 pages of color illustration and photography to accompany the entries Offers a varied and broad list of topics, including basic research as well as methodologies, theoretical approaches, and real-world applications of perceptual research Emphasizes human perception but includes ample research because of its importance in its own right and because of what this research tells us about human perception Written by recognized experts from many disciplines but for an audience with no previous background in perception—students and members of the general public alike Key Themes Action Attention Audition Chemical Senses Cognition and Perception Computers and Perception Consciousness Disorders of Perception Illusory Perceptions Individual Differences (Human) and Comparative (Across Species; Not Including Ageing, Disorders, and Perceptual Development) Methods Perceptual Development/Experience Philosophical Approaches Physiological Processes Sense Interaction Skin and Body Senses Theoretical Approaches Visual Perception




Encyclopedia of Applied Psychology


Book Description

Encompasses topics including aging (geropsychology), assessment, clinical, cognitive, community, counseling, educational, environmental, family, industrial/organizational, health, school, sports, and transportation psychology. Each entry provides a clear definition, a brief review of the theoretical basis, and emphasizes major areas of application.